Delgado in campaign mode

For at least the past half year, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado has sought to distance himself from his boss, Gov. Kathy Hochul. Now that he’s officially declared he will not serve as her running mate next year, Delgado seems to be a free man – or has a lot more time on his hands, depending on who you ask – and is able to appear and pitch himself independently of Hochul. And he’s sure sounding like a candidate gearing up to run for something as Delgado offers rhetoric about the future of the Democratic Party. 

In what may have been the clearest instance of Delgado forging ahead with his own political future since announcing his break from Hochul last month, the lieutenant governor gave very stump speech-sounding remarks at the opening night of New York Somos in Albany last weekend. The governor, notably, was not at the public welcome event, and Delgado did not attend the governor’s private reception the same evening at the Executive Mansion.

After an introduction by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, Delgado laid out a comeback vision for Democrats after last year’s losses. “We did not have to be in the place that we are in right now in this country,” he said. “We need to get back to making sure we are looking out for those who are working every single damn day trying to make $1 out of 15 cents.” Delgado said that Republicans were engaging in a “divide and conquer” strategy to scapegoat certain communities like immigrants who are suffering under the same economic conditions as other working class people. “It's about damn time we figure out how to stop it from happening,” he said. “This is the stakes that we have right now, and this is the work for all of our Black and brown communities and our poor white brothers and sisters who are catching hell.” Delgado did not mention the governor at all during his speech.

Delgado hasn’t attended a Somos event since 2023, when he also went to the New York conference. At the time, he said he was “honored” to be part of the governor’s welcome reception at the Executive Mansion. Delgado was active the entire weekend, with appearances at the Labor Breakfast that year and the scholarship gala on the second night. Notably, he made his social media posts about that weekend from his government account. 

This year, Delgado posted about his Albany Somos attendance on his political account, which is used for campaign matters. And he didn’t attend the Labor Breakfast or the scholarship gala, both of which Hochul spoke at – meaning there was no public overlap between the pair.

Since announcing that he would not run for reelection, Delgado has posted prolifically on his political account about visits he has made around the state, including to Queens, Westchester and Oneonta. He’ll need to build out his name recognition around the state for any wider run if a recent Siena College poll is any indication. Delgado has also highlighted the numerous media hits he has done recently, including with NY1’s Errol Louis, since declaring he would not be Hochul’s running mate in 2026. 

Delgado’s text posts have also taken on a distinctly campaign-y vibe as he opines on Democratic politics and the future of the party – a trend that started last summer when Delgado first publicly broke with Hochul over former President Joe Biden’s candidacy. In his most recent tweet, he sought to criticize the “Democratic status quo’s” decision not to block the Republican continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded. “Instead of endlessly debating the tactics employed by the people who got us here, it's time we inject a new energy into the debate,” Delgado wrote. “And our states, including New York, are critical in this regard. New York should lead the fight.” Delgado is rumored to be considering a primary challenge against Hochul, and although he has not announced whether he’s running for any new position yet, he is clearly preparing New Yorkers for something.

Hochul has stripped Delgado of his office’s staff, government work space and generally any remaining unofficial responsibilities he had, so the lieutenant governor could simply have more time on his hands. Newsday reported on Friday that he’s no longer even serving as acting governor while Hochul is out of state. Peter Kauffmann, a spokesperson for Delgado, disputed the idea that Delgado is doing more now than he has in the past. “He’s as active as he’s always been as LG,” Kauffmann said in a text.